Egypt takes steps to close Gaza border

RAFAH, Egypt - Egyptian guards with riot shields formed human chains along the Egypt-Gaza border Friday, but were unable to stop hundreds of Palestinians from rushing into Egypt after a bulldozer wrecked another section of fence along the frontier.

Men in black clothing, some of them masked, stood atop the bulldozer as it knocked down a concrete slab under the watchful eyes of Egyptian forces on the other side who shot in the air in an attempt to hinder the flow of Gazans into Egypt.

Thousands of Palestinians, many of them carrying empty fuel canisters, managed to push through several openings despite the presence of the Egyptians deployed nine rows deep in some places. At one point, guards aimed a water cannon above the heads of people, not at them, to keep them back.

Cranes were positioned next to the border, lifting crates of supplies over into Gaza.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080125/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians

Hamas challenges Egypt's bid to close Gaza border

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Egypt started to close its breached border with the Gaza Strip on Friday but Palestinian militants bulldozed a new opening in a challenge to Cairo and Israel's blockade of the Hamas-run territory.

Palestinian crowds cheered as Hamas militants used a bulldozer to flatten sections of the chain and concrete fence. In a scene broadcast live on television around the world, Egyptian riot police watched from a distance as hundreds of people poured into Egypt.

Israeli air strikes overnight killed four Palestinian militants in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where Hamas blasted open the border wall on Wednesday, letting tens of thousands rush across to stock up on goods in short supply in the impoverished strip, home to 1.5 million people.

Violence has also flared in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager one day after Palestinian militants killed an Israeli border policeman and infiltrated a Jewish settlement near Bethlehem.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080125/wl_nm/palestinians_israel_dc

Gold Meir.

Is Hillary our Golda? I think so.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7209199.stm


Gaza must not be cut off from the world

<snip>

"The Egyptian authorities began efforts to reclose the country's border with Gaza on Friday morning. Their actions come three days after Palestinian militants blew open breaches in the Gaza-Egypt border wall, allowing hundreds of thousands of Gazans to cross into Egypt to buy food, medicines, fuel and other basic necessities.

The Gaza-Egypt border had been sealed since June 2007, virtually imprisoning the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip, most of them in abject poverty as a result of the stringent Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza.

Amnesty International said that Egypt has the right to secure its border, but a return to the situation whereby the Egypt-Gaza border, Gazans’ only means of passage to the outside world, is completely sealed, as it has been for the past seven months, is not acceptable.

"Whatever agreement about the management of the border is reached between the governments of Israel and Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas de-facto administration in Gaza, it must respect fully the fundamental rights of the population of Gaza," said Malcolm Smart, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. "Notably their right not to be subjected to collective punishment, including arbitrary restrictions on movement and their rights to health, an adequate standard of living and freedom of movement."

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/gaza-must-not-be-cut-world-20080125

Egyptian police abandoned their positions Friday after a failed attempt to reseal the breached Gaza Strip border with human chains, dogs and water cannons.

In a direct challenge to Egypt, Hamas militants used a bulldozer to knock over a new section of the Gaza border wall, and thousands of Palestinians continued to flow into Sinai for the third straight day.

Hamas vowed to keep breaches in the border wall open until crossings into the Strip are reopened. "The gaps shouldn't be closed because they provide urgent assistance to the Palestinians," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri. Egyptian security personnel had initially deployed Friday along the border in a human chain - in some places as many as nine rows deep - and Palestinians were reportedly told the frontier would be sealed by 7 P.M. local time.

Clashes ensued however, and Egyptian forces took up positions a few steps into Palestinian territory, using shields to protect themselves from some Gazans who climbed atop car roofs and threw stones at them. Witnesses said a photographer was lightly injured in the clash.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/948051.html

Egyptian guards with riot shields formed human chains along the Egypt-Gaza border Friday, but were unable to stop hundreds of Palestinians from rushing into Egypt after a bulldozer wrecked another section of fence along the frontier.

Men in black clothing, some of them masked, stood atop the bulldozer as it knocked down a concrete slab under the watchful eyes of Egyptian forces on the other side who shot in the air in an attempt to hinder the flow of Gazans into Egypt.

Thousands of Palestinians, many of them carrying empty fuel canisters, managed to push through several openings despite the presence of the Egyptians deployed nine rows deep in some places. At one point, guards aimed a water cannon above the heads of people, not at them, to keep them back.

Cranes were positioned next to the border, lifting crates of supplies over into Gaza.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1201070791476&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull